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I never ate potatoes, though I love them! I can honestly admit that they are my favorite food, but I have been on a diet practically all my life and potatoes were considered a real no-no! Even though we know today that a good sized potato is only about 100 calories, we still stay away from them, because "they are fattening"! They are fattening because of what we add to them, not what they are! Think about it: 100 calories, in a daily intake is really not that much and what pleasure one gets from a potato is definitely worth it! So why, even at this stage of my life, I stay away from potatoes?... I even found out that they have additional nutritional values, which you will discover when you go to Google! I did! A compete revelation! Amazing!
And who can refuse a potato soup? My mother used to make one during The War and I think it kept us all alive! She used water as milk was too expensive to "waste" on a soup and "stock" was chicken soup, which you ate when you were sick! Today we never even give it any thought! We make stock and use it in many ways! But, "way-back-then" mother would add chopped potatoes, salt (there was no pepper then!) and then she would smash the potatoes and fry s lot of onions! The soup was served with those onions on top! So simple and so life-giving!
You know as well as I do that you can make superb main dishes out of potatoes and I really do not know why we do not! We do make pasta quite a lot and as for calorie intake, you will be surprised to find out that they are about equal! Really! A potato is about 100 calories a serving of pasta - the same. BUT again, it depends what you put on it and into it!
Whenever I think of potatoes, I always think of the time my sisters and I found a pile of raw potato skins; it was during WW2 and we were hidden in a convent as Catholic children and were starving. There was no food at all. The bombing cut off the convent from the rest of the country and there was no way to get anything at all. One day we came across that pile of potato peels... We ate them all up! Of course we were dreadfully sick and the nuns were very worried, because we did not tell them what we did! I remember the nuns as very good and very caring. My sister visited me the other day and we reminisced about this and she did not have that feeling about them at all! She suddenly turned at me and asked: "And who do you think ate the potatoes? The nuns, that's who! Why did they not share the potatoes with us?"...
The other great potato dish was my mother's - after The War. You may remember; layers of sliced boiled potatoes, fried onions and boiled eggs - layer upon layer, baked in an oven.
Would you believe that I have a problem spelling potatoes? I kid you not! I swear to you that I misspell it every single time and ALL the time! I must go back to correct it! So you can see what this simple and plain veggie did to my psychological state! Unbelievable!
A friend wrote asking me which spices he should add to a "kugel"; he was making a macaroni kugel, but I remember that we used to make potato ones very often and very simply; grate half a kilo of potatoes, add an egg, a grated onion, some flour, salt-pepper and either make it into a "kugel" - you put it into a baking dish and bake it - or you can make "latkes". The Guardian calls latkes "Polish potato cakes"!... They also suggest that you serve them with a mushroom sauce, a Hungarian "lesco" (a vegetable stew that combines three of Hungary's favorite ingredients - peppers, tomatoes, and paprika) or any veggie stew! I love it right out of the oven, or crispy hot off the pan with sea salt! But of course I never have any of that! Fattening!... And of course this has nothing to do with potato pancakes, which are made out of mashed potatoes, usually fried in butter! So delicious, but SO fattening!
The ideas of what you can do with potatoes is endless; the Google has a wealth of information and recipes. All sound good. I like the name "Caldo Verde", don't you? I thought that "caldo" would mean "cold", but no! It is a Portuguese hot stew: it consists of olive oil, onions, garlic, stock and - very important! - smoked paprika! Add kale or any other green veggie and of course potatoes! And, no, I will not make it!
And don't let us forget the wonderful potato salads, which can be made in all sorts of ways! My friend makes a hot potato salad, which I do not like, but some people do! She uses a vinaigrette dressing, which she swears by and claims that the potatoes soak it up right away and are very special.
Send your questions to The Wacky Cook: email: debbiemorgenshtern@gmail.com
Debbie Morgenstern is the author of "My Life in Israel" and other short stories.
"My Life in Israel" can be purchased by accessing this link: "My Life in Israel"